YOUTH: Clayton Zane confirms Jets’ FOXTEL NYL squad

Clayton Zane today confirmed his squad for the FOXTEL National Youth League 2016/17 Season, including many returning players plus some fresh, exciting talent.

One of the most interesting additions to the Club’s FOXTEL NYL roster for the forthcoming campaign is attacker Leroy Jennings, who shot to Zane’s attention last month when he featured for Fiji U20 in a friendly fixture against Jets Youth.

Jennings - the cousin of National Rugby League star Michael Jennings - is a pacey striker who has played in the United Kingdom with Wrexham, and has also spent time with Los Angeles Galaxy in the past.

Just a fortnight ago Jennings was named in an extended 35-man Fijian National Team squad to prepare for next year’s Oceania FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (Stage 3), highlighting how highly regarded he is by the Bula Boys.

Zane rates new central defender Solomon Vaiika - formerly of the Australian Institute of Sport and Western Sydney Wanderers Youth - highly, while there is also a strong local flavour to the Newcastle Jets FOXTEL National Youth League 2016/17 squad, with numerous players having progressed through the Club’s Emerging Jets system.

One of these players is goalkeeper Noah James, who won the 2016 U16 AFF Championship with Australia earlier this year. Others include midfielders Angus Thurgate, Finn Parris, Jake McGuinness and Antonee Burke.

Zane is excited by the mix of players that he has at his disposal this season, and is looking forward to the FOXTEL NYL campaign kicking off at Jack McLaughlan Oval against Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday 13 November.

“My expectation is that we will compete in every game, because it is a test for us to see where we are at,” Zane said.

“The NPL is great, but this is like for like in regards to age, so for me we have eight games and we will set out to win eight games.”

“We need to start putting these players under pressure to see which is the next group that can make the transition into the first team. There is no better time to do that than in the FOXTEL NYL,” he said.

Jets Youth finished in second place in the FOXTEL National Youth League 2015/16 (Conference B) standings, just two points behind eventual Champions Sydney FC.

The team will play one home match at Jack McLaughlan Oval in Edgeworth this season (Sunday 13 November vs. Western Sydney Wanderers), and host its three other home games at Magic Park in Broadmeadow. These fixtures will take place on December 3 against Sydney FC, December 10 against FFA Centre of Excellence, and December 30 against Central Coast Mariners.

Click here to view the Newcastle Jets’ full FOXTEL National Youth League draw.

Another facet of the Club’s FOXTEL National Youth League program this season is the introduction of an extended train-on squad, which currently consists of nine players from the Emerging Jets system and three from Edgeworth FC.